What's that in the sky, it must be a flare!!!

[IvanT]

Made me smile

BBC News - Tynemouth lifeboat search after planet Jupiter mistaken for flare

[onesmallstep]

Makes a change from the UFO sightings!

[Ludd]

And how can the Beeb state that "Jupiter is very low in the sky at this time of year"? Someone's actually gone to the trouble of inventing that lie, presumably because they couldn't be bothered to find out the truth and thought nobody would mind a fib.

[damnut]

Hi There,

I spent five days in Numberland last week under completely black skies, have sailed for many years. We walked the dogs on Druridge Bay beach in the eve and Jupiter could have quite easily been mistaken for a flare except it did not float down....

And a white flare is for collision warning and illumination!!

Use stellarium look east and see how low jupiter was last week!!!.

[Dr_Who_46]

I like it lol

[JonnyP]

"You've seen a bright light in the sky? Did it move at all?"

"Err, no, it stayed where it was for the whole night"

"Oh, it must be a flare then. <facepalm> Let's send the lifeboat out just in case!"

Seeing that if you look in the sky for long enough you'll see satellites, shooting stars, planets, chinese lanterns, powerful lights shone from the ground, and occasionally flares, they must have some way of weeding out the chaff from the sensible callers.

Earlier this year, a work colleague dragged me outside to show me the moon (when it was at it's closest to Earth). What she was actually showing me was the Sun through a thin cloud layer.

People's ignorance of their surrounding continues to stun me.

[IvanT]

While I find these sort of items amusing I'm reluctant to judge the people involved, a wise man once said "never confuse knowledge with intelligence". Conversely, some people stubbornly refuse to accept rational explanation as to why they may be wrong.

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